We bought our house in New Jersey back in May of 2009. The house came with an in-ground pool. We know pools are not considered assets, and have heard several times that the time and cost to maintain a pool is not worth it. As you know, we are in a good financial position so the money didn’t bother me, so we proceeded with the purchase. During the first summer in 2009, we enjoyed the pool very much with family and friends. The time spent and cost of chemicals didn’t really bother me. It didn’t take nearly as much time as people said, nor did the chemicals cost that much to us.
However, things began to fall apart in 2010. First, the wife wanted to fence in the pool. Nevermind that the backyard was already fenced in, but she was concerned about our children accidentally walking into the pool. I agreed with her that most accidents happen at home and most with pool owners, so we spend about $2500 to fence in the pool. When we opened the pool in 2010, the liner was completely torn apart and unrepairable. It was 12 years old and needed to be replaced. This cost about $3000. In 2011, our safety cover was falling apart, literally, and pieces were in the pool so we had to buy a new safety cover. This cost about $2500. At the end of the summer season, New Jersey experienced significant hurricanes and rain which caused wrinkles at the bottom of our pool. To have the liner reset, it cost us $800. We just opened the pool again for this season and the wrinkles came back. Since pool companies don’t guarantee their work on resetting the liner, we will be out about $800 again.
When all is said and done, in a matter of 3 years, we have spent about $10,000 just to maintain the pool! If you’re considering a home with a pool or building a pool in your backyard, think again. We had a pool inspector come out to our pool before we bought the house and he said that everything was in decent shape. Pools are tricky and there are so many things that can go wrong. Unless you have a significant income, pools are just not worth it.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow that’s a lot of money! I want a pool with my next house, but maybe not anymore…
“Unless you have a significant income, pools are just not worth it.”
I can’t agree more with that statement. Even in climates like CA where the weather is great year-round, I’ve had people tell me they shell out $75-100/month for a “pool guy” to come out and maintain the pool. Whenever my wife looks at a house and says with joy, “Oh, and it has a pool”, I quietly discard that as a potential purchase.
It’s much better to know someone who has a pool so that you can enjoy the fun and let them shoulder the cost.
I don’t know, I question the inclusion of the fence in that calculation. That wasn’t necessary for the pool, but for your piece of mind. Do you include child safety items in the cost of maintaining your home?
Also, the safety cover was $2,500? Seems really steep considering you can buy safety covers online for $500.
We don’t have a mesh safety cover, but a solid safety cover (blocks 100% UV rays). Additionally, since we had an old safety cover, the new cover had to be cut custom so that the new anchors will fit the old anchor locations.
I agree with you that pools wouldn’t be worth it for me. Can you fill the pool in? I probably won’t buy a house with a pool even if I love it because so many things can and do go wrong with them. I don’t think insurance companies like them either.
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Pardon the pun, but pools are quite simply a money pit. Much cheaper to have a membership at a community pool or live near a body of water that is great for swimming in like a lake or the ocean.
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Ouch!
I have an above ground pool and needed to replace the liner last year. Mine was only $300. I’m looking at a pump motor replacement now… another $150. Reading you post has put my costs in perspective – thanks!
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This is exactly why we didn’t want a pool in our house. Luckily, both my parents and my wife’s parents have pools!
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I’m with you! You could take a simple summer vacation every year for the price just to maintain the pool – or you can install central air to increase the value of a house… I know – pools are “nice” but I’d definitely think twice before buying a house with a pool.
Hopefully you get beyond the maintenance issues this year.
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Yikes! I recall growing up with a pool in the backyard of my NJ home, and I loved having a pool in the backyard, but soon my parents filled it in and the pool was gone. We had one down the street for the development anyway, but I really missed the private pool access. I dream of having a pool of my own one day, but it seems to be not worth the hassle, even if you are in the 1%.
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I appreciate it for composing “Pool Ownership…a liability – I Am 1
Percent”. Imight surely wind up being returning for
a lot more reading and commenting soon. Thanks, Aracely
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About the only way I don’t heavily discourage buying a home w/ a pool is if they are indoor, even then, the potential expense of heat/cooling the room is there ( try telling friends/family its not currently pool season ). Having owned a rental w/a pool, you can guess the added insurance involved with such.
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p.s. Make sure you are nice to someone that has a pool !
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